Paul Finebaum explains reservations for Clemson ahead of pivotal 2025 season
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Paul Finebaum knows all about Clemson’s recent past.
In the past decade, the Tigers have rattled off 8 ACC titles under Dabo Swinney, and Clemson has reached the mountaintop of college football twice in that span, capturing national titles in 2016 and 2018.
Last season, Clemson squeezed out another ACC title by outlasting SMU in the championship game. The Tigers won double-digit games again, and they reached the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. But reality hit in the first round of the Playoff, when Clemson lost by 2 touchdowns at Texas. It brought an end to a 4-loss season for the Tigers, their 2nd straight 4-loss campaign.
Looking back deeper, Clemson has lost at least 3 games in every season since 2021. That’s 4 straight seasons losing at least 3 games, which during this era at Clemson calls for some real concern.
Take that concern into 2025, said Finebaum on Tuesday morning during his appearance on Get Up, with the ESPN college football analyst having real question marks about this Clemson team even though the Tigers were ranked 6th in Monday’s preseason Coaches’ Poll.
“Well, first of all, they’re in the top 10, so they’re getting the respect. Clemson is outstanding. I think they are underrated. But it’s hard to wrap one’s arms around them right now,” said Finebaum, who pointed to Clemson’s early season poor performance against Georgia last season, as well as the home loss to South Carolina and the Playoff loss to Texas as reasons to be hesitant on Clemson in 2025.
Clemson will once again have a big early-season test in 2025 as the Tigers host LSU in Week 1.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
